I.3 Pilares básicos del Marketing Emocional
1.3. I Vínculo afectivo marca consumidor
Before reaching a conclusion on which foreign policy traditions Gerald Ford was closest to in his rhetoric, it is useful to find some patterns in his speeches that fall under the spectrum of using the rhetoric of American exceptionalism.
Ford did not give an “inaugural address” as such that is customary to the new presidents of the United States, since he was not elected as the president. Instead, on August 9, 1974, he addressed the nation with “just a little straight talk among friends”, as he described.148
Taking his oath of office, Ford already gave away snippets of his “exceptional” rhetoric that were to come. He emphasized freedom and the search for peace, and invoked the Founding Fathers by quoting Thomas Jefferson who “said the people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” He also stressed God's role in determining what was right for the man: “our great Republic is a government of laws and not of men.
Here the people rule. But there is a higher Power, by whatever name we honor Him, who ordains not only righteousness but love, not only justice but mercy.”149 Overall, the tone in his remarks on taking the oath of office was very defensive and modest. After all, Ford's
147 Ibid, 131‒133.
148 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office”, August 9, 1974. Public Papers of the Presidents:
Gerald R. Ford, 1974. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4409 (accessed 18.4.2016).
149 Ibid.
ascendancy to the presidency was an era of all-time low for the United States because of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal.
Ford's first months as president were overwhelmed by a poor state of the economy, which he made clear in his first annual State of the Union Address in January 1975: “...the state of the Union is not good: Millions of Americans are out of work. Recession and inflation are eroding the money of millions more… We depend on others for essential energy.”150 Ford used “exceptional” rhetoric in his first State of the Union Address to restore confidence in the American people. He was also now, five months after Nixon's resignation, willing to give the United States its familiar role as the leader of the free world:
“This is not a moment for the American people to turn inward. More than ever before, our own well-being depends on America's determination and America's leadership in the whole wide world. We are a great Nation--spiritually, politically, militarily, diplomatically, and economically. America's commitment to international security has sustained the safety of allies and friends in many areas--in the Middle East, in Europe, and in Asia. Our turning away would unleash new instabilities, new dangers around the globe, which, in turn, would threaten our own security.”151
Using “exceptional” rhetoric in economic matters was useful, since the American public was able to take part in determining the path on which the economy was taking by being informed consumers. Ford encouraged citizens to conserve energy to help the country not being so dependent on foreign oil. The idea was to reassure Americans that they could take matters in their own hands.152 Ford emphasized the exceptional spirit of the American people in the fight against inflation:
“The American people have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to submerge personal and group interests to the general welfare. When they know the chips are down, they are really down--and they have done it in the past, and they will do it again--they will respond as they always have. The most important weapon in the fight against inflation is the spirit
150 Ford, Gerald: “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on the State of the Union”, January 15, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4938 (accessed 18.4.2016).
151 Ibid.
152 Mieczkowski, Yanek (2005): Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s. University Press of Kentucky, 132.
of the American people. This spirit is no secret weapon; it is renowned all over the world.”153
The president launched his anti-inflation campaign to rally the nation around his policies in his October 8, 1974 address to the Congress, which came to be known as his “Whip
Inflation Now” speech.154
In addition to invoking the Founding Fathers when he was taking the oath of office, the president returned to the theme now and then. This was particularly common in 1975 and 1976 around the time when the United States was celebrating its bicentennial
anniversary.155 Ford described the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States constitution as “two of the greatest documents ever devised by man.”156 Addressing the Continental Congress of the Daughters of American Revolution Ford declared:
“Call it Divine Providence or call it destiny, 13 small colonies clustered along the Atlantic coast somehow managed to produce one of the most brilliant generations of leaders known to history--the soldiers, the statesmen we know as the founders of this great country.
153 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks Concluding the Summit Conference on Inflation”, September 28, 1974. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1974. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4420 (accessed 18.4.2016).
154 Mieczkowski, 132, 135‒136. During the address Ford wore a button with the acronym “WIN” on his lapel. The acronym stood for the phrase “Whip Inflation Now”, and it was developed for Ford by an advertising agency. Also mugs, paperweights, pens, watches, clothing etc. were made bearing the acronym
“WIN”.
155 See e.g. Ford, Gerald: “Address at the Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American
Revolution”, April 15, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4834 (accessed 18.4.2016); Ford, Gerald: “Remarks at the White House Conference on Domestic and Economic Affairs in Cincinnati”, July 3, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5043 (accessed 18.4.2016); Ford, Gerald: “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on the State of the Union”, January 19, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5677 (accessed 18.4.2016).
156 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks at the Portland Youth Bicentennial Rally in Portland”, September 4, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5217 (accessed 18.4.2016).
But even more remarkable than the genius of the founders themselves is the fact that generation after generation of Americans have continued to build on the foundation that they left us. Fortunately for us and for the world, we have never lost sight of their great dream.”157
Common rhetorical device that helped to bring forth “exceptional” sentiments in the American public was to reference past American presidents and leaders, in addition to the Founding Fathers. Quoting former presidents becomes a ritual to instill nationalistic values and to build familiar continuity with the (successful) past. The former presidents become symbols for America's exceptional past.158 The device was used by Ford at the end of his State of the Union Address in January 1976:
“I have heard many inspiring Presidential speeches, but the words I remember best were spoken by Dwight D. Eisenhower. "America is not good because it is great," the President said. "America is great because it is good."
President Eisenhower was raised in a poor but religious home in the heart of America. His simple words echoed President Lincoln's eloquent testament that "right makes might."
And Lincoln in turn evoked the silent image of George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge.”159
The underlying idea behind invoking the heroes of the American Revolution was that, in a sense, the revolution was still in process. Ford's America needed new American heroes to survive the low point in America's exceptional status. President's rhetoric was supportive and encouraged confidence: “In a sense, our American Revolution was never ended. We are unique people in that we are at the same time eminently practical and incurably idealistic.”160
According to Colleen Shogan, the presidents of the United States often use moral and religious rhetoric as a strategic exercise of power. Religious rhetoric is of particularly good use because it has the ability to connect “the pragmatism of policy to the passion of
157 “Address at the Continental Congress of the Daughters of the American Revolution”.
158 Hobsbawm, 1.
159 Ford, Gerald: “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on the State of the Union”, January 19, 1976.
160 Ford, Gerald: “Commencement Address at the University of Pennsylvania”, May 18, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4921 (accessed 18.4.2016).
emotions”.161
Since the Puritan settlers of the 17th century through American history, religion has played an influential role in American society. According to a study from 2010, Americans have become more religious, not less, since the end of Civil War in 1865.162
Shogan states that the use of moral and religious rhetoric can be of effective use if the president wants the nation to rally around a particular cause.163 President Ford aspired to unite the nation and raise its spirit in the fight against inflation, and to distract the nation's memory from the humiliating legacy of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal. Just three days into his presidency on August 12, 1974, he ended the Address to the Joint Session of Congress by saying that “We all need God's sure guidance. With it, nothing can stop the United States of America.”164 Ford also used a technique of linking the United States pre-Vietnam and pre-Watergate success to God's direction and guidance: “And God helps those who help themselves. On this principle, Americans in two centuries have astonished the world and, time and time again, have confounded the pessimists and the cynics who said it couldn't be done.”165
Although quantitative content analysis has not been used in this study to determine how the presidents used American exceptionalism in their rhetoric, it is to be noted that during the latter half of his presidency, Gerald Ford did not refer to religion, or to God, as directly and explicitly as he did during those early months when he was trying to restore the confidence of the American public. From the spring of 1976 onwards, he very often emphasized the exceptional morality and spirituality of the United States. In a speech on March 27, 1976
161 Shogan, Colleen J. (2006): The Moral Rhetoric of American Presidents. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas, 9‒11.
162 Schultz, Kevin M. ‒ Harvey, Paul (2010): Everywhere and Nowhere: Recent Trends in American Religious History and Historiography. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 78, 1, 129‒162.
163 Shogan, 14.
164 Ford, Gerald: “Address to a Joint Session of the Congress", August 12, 1974. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1974. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=4694 (accessed 18.4.2016).
165 “Remarks Concluding the Summit Conference on Inflation”.
Ford declared:
“We have the greatest science and technology capability in the history of mankind. Our military capability is second to none. But there is one thing that is even more important than all of that. America is morally and spiritually number one, and that will be the driving force to keep us moving so that America and all its people, its government, will be number one forever.”166
Emphasizing the moral and spiritual strength of the United States was a common reference when Ford was addressing his campaign volunteers in the spring of 1976. In his remarks to his committee volunteers in Milwaukee on April 2, 1976 he stated that “the great strength of America is its moral and spiritual leadership.”167 In another address on the same day in Wisconsin he stated that “no other nation can match us... in the combined economic, agricultural, technological, military, and more importantly, moral strength of the United States of America.”168 Rhetoric of this kind repeated itself in Ford's speeches throughout the spring.169 At a President Ford committee breakfast in Dallas he expressed the linkage between the American spirit and freedom:
“And then there is one final ingredient that I think makes a difference to all of us. In the United States of America, we have a great devotion to spiritual, religious, deep-seated convictions about what we can do and who we believe in and what our feelings are toward something greater than we, greater than anything. And that spiritual religious conviction gives us the inspiration to keep going, to make this freedom secure and this liberty positive and certain and to make America what we want as our dream--the
166 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session in La Crosse", March 27, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5762 (accessed 18.4.2016).
167 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks to President Ford Committee Volunteers in Milwaukee", April 2, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5783 (accessed 18.4.2016).
168 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session at a Public Forum in West Bend,
Wisconsin”, April 2, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5785 (accessed 18.4.2016).
169 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks to President Ford Committee Volunteers in Green Bay”, April 3, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5791 (accessed 18.4.2016); Ford, Gerald:
“Remarks at a President Ford Committee Reception in San Antonio”, April 9, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5821 (accessed 18.4.2016).
America that our forefathers gave us but improved and added to and just made better by all of us.”170
It is to be taken into account, as Shogan suggests, that much of the genres of presidential rhetoric (Inaugural Addresses, Farewell Addresses, State of the Union Addresses) routinely include moral and spiritual elements.171 Putting too much emphasis on religious themes in presidential rhetoric does not provide a clear picture of exceptional presidential rhetoric.
Although Ford had kept his religious rhetoric somewhat toned down in the latter half of his presidency, he remembered, however, to return to America's religious roots in his last State of the Union Address in January 1977, after having lost the presidential election to Jimmy Carter the previous year:
“My fellow Americans, I once asked you for your prayers, and now I give you mine: May God guide this wonderful country, its people, and those they have chosen to lead them.
May our third century be illuminated by liberty and blessed with brotherhood, so that we and all who come after us may be the humble servants of thy peace. Amen. Good night.
God bless you.”172
There are some phrases or mantras that often feature in “exceptional” rhetoric. The most common of these are usually listed as “manifest destiny”, “city on a hill”, “American dream”, “beacon of light/hope” or “new world order”.173 In the wake of the downfall of South Vietnam's capital, Saigon, in April 1975, Ford did not accept the beacon to be put out easily:
“Let the beacon light of the past shine forth from historic New Orleans and from Tulane University and from every other corner of this land to illuminate a boundless future for all Americans and a peace for all mankind.”174
170 Ford, Gerald: “Remarks at a President Ford Committee Breakfast in Dallas”, April 10, 1976. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1976. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5827 (accessed 18.4.2016).
171 Shogan, 12.
172 Ford, Gerald: “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on the State of the Union”, January 12, 1977. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1977. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=5555 (accessed 18.4.2016).
173 McEvoy-Levy, 23.
174 Ford, Gerald: “Address at a Tulane University Convocation”, April 23, 1975. Public Papers of the Presidents: Gerald R. Ford, 1975. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency
The concept of “American Dream” was a useful rhetorical tool during the times of economic woes:
“Without the dedication of millions of men and women willing to roll up their sleeves and go to work, the American dream would remain only that--a dream. With that dedication and hard work, America has developed over the last 200 years into not only the most prosperous of nations but an enduring example of the democratic process and spirit.”175